Imperfect Reflections
by The Rogue Wolf
Summary: A cursed curio causes a crisis in the community of Ponyville! With our usual heroines out of action and more victims being claimed by the hour, only one pony's special difference saves her. But can she save everyone else before it's too late?


_(Author's note: I am not what you would consider a "brony". While I happen to like watching Friendship is Magic, I'm not an overt proponent of the series and I don't really do any writing involving it. However, I'll freely admit that I'm a huge fan of the character Ditzy Doo / Derpy Hooves. There's something I just adore about the idea of this wall-eyed pony being a dedicated mailmare and loving mother to a unicorn filly. I've personalized her in my mind as someone who isn't stupid, but is easily distracted, a bit clumsy and maybe not quite the brightest bulb in the box- but who'd do anything for her friends and especially her daughter. So when the idea for this tale- which I feel would fit in quite well as an episode in the series- floated into my brain, I decided it should be given form. Perhaps this story doesn't completely match up to the fandom's consensus, let alone canon, but hey... it's my story, so nyah._

_Quick symbiology guide: (-) is a scene change; -C- is where chapter changes would have occured, but since this story isn't even 12K words, treat them as commercial breaks instead. Feel free to make a sandwich; you won't miss anything. Promise!)_

(-)

_*ding ding ding*_

"Coming! Coming!" Twilight Sparkle trotted down the staircase from her observatory, where she'd been enjoying the fine spring weather and one of Applejack's fritters. With Spike out spending a day off with Rarity on a gemstone hunt, it was up to Twilight to handle such mundane tasks as answering her door. She took just a moment to brush crumbs from her mouth before opening the door to find a light grey pegasus gazing at her- and past her. "Oh, Ditzy!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile. "You're a little early today. Maaaaaybe you have a special delivery for me?"

"Uh-huh!" Ditzy Doo leaned back a moment to rummage through her mailbags, coming back up with a tightly-wrapped package. "Heh yuh goh!" she mumbled around it, before Twilight levitated it out of her mouth, pulled the wrapping off and gently placing the crimson-covered book onto her doorside table. "Thanks so much, Ditzy!" the unicorn exclaimed, clopping her hooves together in delight. "Now I've finally got all eight books of _The Greater Guide to Equestria Legends & Folklore_."

"Hey, that's great!" The mailmare positively beamed. "That's all I've got for you, Ms. Sparkle. Did you have anything going out?"

"No, not today. Though would you like an apple fritter?"

"Aw, I'd love one, but I'm already way behind on my route! Thanks though!" With that, the wall-eyed pegasus turned, stretched her wings and leapt- a little lop-sidedly- into the air, just narrowly missing one of the lower-hanging branches of Twilight's tree. "Oh, Ditzy," Twilight chuckled to herself, closing the door before eagerly lifting the book up. "Wow, I can't wait to read this!"

(-)

_*knock knock knock*_

"J- just a moment!" Fluttershy looked up from the miniature bed towards the door, taking a moment to steel herself for a possibly frightening encounter with whoever was on the other side. But opening the door revealed only Ditzy. "Delivery for you, Ms. Butterfly!"

"It... it's Fluttershy. But yes! Please... please bring it in. Oh, just in time, too!" Fluttershy trotted towards her makeshift infirmary, where lay a sick-looking squirrel tucked into a tiny redwood bed. Ditzy pulled out a large, white-wrapped package with a red cross printed on each side. "It was so foolish of me to let myself run out of medicines," the yellow pegasus murmured, worrying over the bedridden animal for a moment before quickly opening the package. As she sorted out an astounding number of bottles, tubes and boxes, Ditzy made her way over to the squirrel. "Aw, little guy doesn't look so good," she said, focusing on him with one eye while the other decided to give the far wall a good examination. "Hey, I bet his muffin quotient is low! Has he had any muffins lately?"

"Um... muffins?" Fluttershy paused in her sorting to give the other pony a confused look. "I... I don't think so..."

"Well, I bet that's not helping! You go ahead and use all your pastes and pills and such, 'cause sometimes that does the trick, but when I'm done with my route I'll fetch a tasty walnut muffin from home for him!"

"Um... okay. I guess that couldn't hurt. Thank you, Ditzy."

"Sure! I love to help. But I gotta get going! Get well soon, little guy! Bye, Ms. Dragonfly!" The mailmare turned, dashed towards the door... and collided head-first with the doorway, leaving her on her rump for a moment with her eyes turning every which way before she shook her head. With a sheepish grin, Ditzy stumbled her way outside.

"It's... Fluttershy." Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as she closed the door. "Oh, Ditzy."

(-)

_*dingadingaling*_

"Oh, hello! And welcome to the Carousel Boutique! I'll be with you in just a moment." Rarity set down her jewelry box and stepped back from the posehorse for a few seconds, memorizing all the work she'd done so far and what she still needed to finish. She'd learned the hard way that interruptions were frequent and seldom short in this business, especially in Ponyville. "Thank you for waiting," she called out as she cantered into the showroom, to find a familiar mailmare waiting for her, with a delivery wagon's pull bar resting on her back. "Oh! Ditzy! A delivery for me?"

"Yes'm! A big one!" Ditzy let the bar slide off her back and drop down to the floor, then went around to the rear of the wagon, where rested several thick rolls of fabric. As the pegasus was about to put her hooves on the wagon to grab one, a nebulous field of magical light surrounded the rolls. "Oh, no, my dear, allow me," Rarity said, furrowing her brow in concentration as she levitated the fabric out of the delivery wagon and onto various shelves and cubbyholes. She gave the rolls a close inspection as she did so. "Amazing!" she declared. "Imported from some of the farthest reaches of Equestria, but not a speck of dirt on them! Well done, Ditzy."

The mailmare smiled shyly. "I tried to be extra-careful with them. You make pretty dresses and I didn't want to mess that up. I know I can be a klutz sometimes, but when it's important I can be a careful pony."

"Aww. Well, you've done superbly with this, dear. You have my thanks."

"I'm always happy to help, Ms. Rarity. Do you have anything to go out?"

"In fact, I do!" Rarity levitated a large envelope off of the front counter and tucked it away into Ditzy's mailbag. "An order for ruffles and bows. There's a huge fashion show next month in Fillydelphia and I intend to make a big splash in the City of All-Pony Love."

"Then it'll be on its way toot-sweet! Bye, Ms. Rarity!" Ditzy spun on her hooves, and smacked nose-first into the side of the wagon. She gave the unicorn a sheepish grin as she slid herself under the pull bar and hauled the now-empty wagon out of the store.

"It's _tout suite_, dear," Rarity called out after her. "Ah, Ditzy."

(-)

"Mama? Mama, are you home yet?" Dinky pushed the door open, looking around the living room and open kitchen for a sign of her mother. Nopony else was present, but there was a note pinned to the cupboard- upside-down, of course. Dinky snagged the note in her mouth and turned it over to read her adoptive mother's terrible mouthwriting.

"_Dink-_

_Had to make a special delivery to a sick squirrel. Nopony should ever have to suffer from a low muffin quotient! Be back before sundown._

_-Mama"_

"Oh, Mama," Dinky giggled, laying the note down on the kitchen counter. She was no stranger to putting together dinner- her mother's job sometimes kept her out late- so getting together two plates with a sandwich and mixed veggies on each was no trouble. "One for Mama, and one for me," Dinky declared, setting the extra plate on the kitchen table, then pulling herself up for dinner.

She'd gotten halfway through her meal when the front door opened, and there was her mother, mailbags open and empty beneath her wings, mane slightly mussed from recent flying. "Dinky!" she exclaimed, dumping the bags by the door and trotting to the table to nuzzle her daughter. "Hi, Mama!" the filly said, returning the affectionate noserub. "Another big workday, huh?"

"Uh-huh. My wings are aching!" Ditzy eyed the plate on the table, as well as the clock on the wall. "And my stomach is growling! That food looks good enough to eat!"

Dinky laughed at her mom's unintentional pun, smiling as the older pony sat down to eat. True to form, it took Ditzy less than half the time to eat a meal than Dinky, even though the filly's portions were smaller; the mailmare had her plate cleaned off while Dinky was still finishing the last of her carrots. Once she was done, Ditzy picked up both plates and carried them over to the sink. "You made dinner so I do the dishes," she said, before leaning over the sink to run warm water into it. "Do you have any homework?"

"Only a little, writing practice."

"I guess we can both use that, huh? Go get started, I'll come to help you out as soon as I'm done."

"Okay!" Dinky dutifully went to her saddlebags and retrieved her schoolbook and a pencil, setting the book down on the floor next to the fireplace. But she'd only just gotten to her assigned page when a loud crash startled her, making her drop the pencil. She looked up to see Ditzy gazing in embarrassment at a broken plate. "Ditzy Doo does it again," the pony sighed, leaning over to get a conveniently-placed broom and dustpan.

"Let me help, Mama!" She rushed into the kitchen and dutifully held the dustpan while her mother swept the broken shards into it, then carefully emptied them out into the dustbin. With that done, pegasus and unicorn both went into the living room and settled down to tackle Dinky's homework.

The sun had gone down a while back, and the moon was a bright circle in the sky, when Ditzy finally brought her filly to bed. She tucked the patchwork quilt around Dinky's neck and nuzzled her gently. "Lots of sleep for a growing pony," she said, giving her daughter a wide grin. "Then off to school tomorrow, then in two days, picnic!"

"Picnic! Yay!" It was funny, but undeniably heartwarming, to see Dinky always get so excited for what had become a weekly ritual on Ditzy's one day off from work. Every week the filly would excitedly pile sandwiches, muffins and all sort of other treats into her little picnic basket with its bright yellow bows, and carry it out to the nearby field. It was their once-a-week chance to spend the whole day together, and the filly cherished it as much as her adoptive mother. "See you tomorrow, Mama," Dinky murmured, her bright eyes already closing.

"G'night, sweetie." Ditzy turned down the lantern until it was just barely giving off enough light to see, then paused at the doorway. What was it about this little pony that made her heart race every time either one of her eyes saw her? Ever since that one storm-tossed afternoon where the mailmare had come across the bawling, abandoned foal huddling underneath a tree, Ditzy had been filled with an overwhelming need to protect and nurture her. Maybe it had been her own fillyhood, days at school spent dealing with jeers of "Derpy Hooves" from classmates and nights trying to make her parents less disappointed in her... maybe it was a desire to not let another pony go through fillyhood unhappy that had brought Ditzy to adopt Dinky.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me," the pegasus whispered towards her sleeping ward. "I knew I had to shape up once I signed those custody papers. Got a good steady job, started paying attention and not being so clumsy. I didn't know being a mailmare and a mother could feel so nice."

As wonderful as it was to just stand there and watch her adopted daughter sleep, Ditzy knew that it was getting about time to hit the hay herself; after all, Dinky wasn't the only one likely to be busy tomorrow. So she trotted off to her own bedroom, slid underneath her bubble-patterned comforter, and was asleep within five minutes.

(-)

"Well, Ditzy, here you are. Three minutes late. Well, I suppose I can let that slide." Primo leaned back in his chair, chewing on the stem of his customary pipe. As far as Ditzy could tell, that pipe had never left his mouth since she'd started working here; he never lit it, thankfully. "I've got a big delivery for you."

"How big, Mr. Primo?" she asked.

"Even bigger than that fabric delivery. Now, a few months ago asking you to manage a job like this would've meant I could put this pipe in one ear, push it through my empty head and pull it out my other ear... but you've made some noteworthy improvements since then, so I'm going to give you a chance."

"I'll do my best, sir!"

"You know, I doubt that a lot less than I used to." Primo chuckled to himself. "Alright, Ditzy. We have a large wardrobe mirror headed over to the Carousel Boutique Now, this thing looks like it's as old as Princess Celestia, and it's probably both irreplaceable and fragile, so there need to be zero mess-ups." He moved the pipe from one side of his mouth to the other. "I'm going to have Chrysanthemum go with you on this shipment, just to be on the safe side."

Ditzy smiled. "Chryssie? Sure! I like working with her."

"Well, good. That's a good attitude to have. Alright, Ditzy, the wagon and the parcel are in Bay Four."

It didn't take long for Ditzy to strap herself to the specialized two-pony wagon the mail office used for especially large or fragile parcels; she gazed over her wing at the large, triple-wrapped object that sat nestled in a pile of soft hay. "That must be the mirror," she thought aloud. "I wonder if they used bubble-wrap."

Her musings were cut short by the arrival of her sometimes-partner Chrysanthemum; the mare's bright-yellow mane looked a little mussed, as though she'd flown through heavy winds- or at high speeds. "Got in late too, huh, Chryssie?" Ditzy asked.

'Heh-heh, yeah. Overslept this morning. Only missed punch-in by a few minutes, though." The other mailmare stepped into her harness and pulled the various straps and buckles tight. "How's Dinky doing?" she asked.

"She's doing great! Oh, that reminds me- she wanted me to ask you if Chicory was still okay for the sleepover Saturday. Is she sick?"

"Down with a little bit of a cold, yeah. Nothing too bad, and she might be over it in time for the sleepover. If you don't hear from me by about five or so, then go ahead and bring Dinky over." Chryssie smiled. "Both girls have been looking forward to this, so Chicory is getting lots of sleep and taking her medicine like I've been telling her."

"Sometimes you've just gotta find the right motivation to get foals to do what they oughta." Both mares laughed as they guided the wagon to the edge of the bay, and with a practiced routine, dragged it out into open sky. The moment the wagon's wheels left the floor of the bay, its levitation enchantment kicked in, and it glided right behind them as they soared through the air. "Okay, descending to four thousand feet, heading two-one-eight, on my mark," Chrysanthemum called out over the rushing wind. "And... mark!"

Smooth as silk, the pair maneuvered the wagon onto a course towards Ponyville. Inwardly, Ditzy cheered herself; it was only a year ago that she would've gotten the numbers confused in her mind, or been distracted by a passing bird, and the wagon would've ended up buried in its own impact crater. Maintaining this level of concentration and attention wasn't easy for her, but all she had to do was remember that little foal waiting for her at home, her welfare depending on her adoptive mother's continued employment, and that gave her all the incentive she needed. "Heh, I guess foals aren't the only ones who'll do what they oughta with the right motivation," she told herself quietly.

They sailed in for a smooth landing just outside Ponyville, and pulled the cart by hoof across the smooth cobbled streets up to the Carousel Boutique; oddly enough, Rarity was standing outside the door watching them with an expectant look. "Ah, here you are!" she called out, beckoning them to the back of the shop, where a larger door stood open. "Bring it right through here, ladies. Punctual as usual!"

The mirror was quite a bit heavier than a shipment of fabrics, and Rarity needed the mailmares' help to get it out of the wagon and set it down in a corner of the designing room. The packaging came off, revealing a tall oval mirror set in a dark wooden stand; the glass seemed to shimmer in the light of the room. "Excellent!" the pegasus exclaimed, practically bouncing on her hooves. "In perfect condition, just as when I won the auction on it. It was something of an extravagant purchase, but when I laid eyes on it in that auction hall, I simply had to have it!"

"It's really something," Ditzy agreed, though she didn't see the draw of it herself. But everypony had their likes, and Ms. Rarity seemed to have a soft spot for antiquities. What could be the harm in that?

Rarity signed the shipment manifest to confirm that she'd received the delivery in good condition, and the two mailmares wished her a good day before bringing the cart outside. "Say, it's just about lunchtime," Chrysanthemum said, gazing up at the noonday sun. "What do you say we park the cart for a bit, run over to Sugarcube Corner and grab a bite to eat?"

Ditzy grinned. "Chryssie, you know how to speak my language."

(-)

The alarm clock woke Rarity out of a sound sleep, just as the rays of the morning sun were peeking through her window. She didn't complain, though- she had a busy day ahead of her, and time spent lollygagging in bed was time NOT spent designing, sewing and measuring. So she slid out from under her covers, took a moment to remake the bed, and had herself a warm bath and a quick breakfast before getting down to work. It was a fortunate thing that she'd been able to convince the Cutie Mark Crusaders to stage their sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres rather than her home; certainly Applejack wasn't having nearly as easy a time getting to work with those three fillies underhoof.

Still, despite the busy day ahead of her, Rarity couldn't help but admire her reflection in that beautiful antique mirror. The wood carving on the frame was exquisite, showing perfectly-symmetrical images of ponies in various poses; even she couldn't recognize the style, and the auctioneer had been likewise clueless as to its origin, only explaining that it had been put up for auction in a large lot of items found in a mysteriously-abandoned manor in the far northwestern reaches of Equestria. The mystery of the piece was one of the things that had drawn Rarity to bid on it, even though she'd only gone to the auction for rare knick-knacks and jewelry she could use for her outfits.

"Such exquisite beauty," she murmured to herself, habitually posing in front of the mirror. "This will be an excellent conversation piece! I do wonder which of my friends would like to see it first..."

It was at that moment that the morning sun rose high enough in the sky to peek through the eastern window of her designing room, catching the mirror in its light. The glass glowed brightly for a moment, then seemed to absorb the light into itself, leaving the reflection seemingly darker somehow. Rarity cocked her head in confusion and moved a little closer. "What was that?" she wondered aloud.

Then her gaze locked onto the eyes of her reflection, and she froze. There was something... wrong about the image in the mirror; even though it looked just like her, there was some barely-discernible quality about it that seemed off. Yet for some reason, Rarity felt compelled to look closer, and she found herself walking closer to the mirror, unable to move her eyes away from those of her reflection, until she found herself literally walking into the glass-

-and through it, as though the mirror weren't there at all.

For a moment, the room was empty. Then the mirror's surface seemed to waver like a mirage, and Rarity stepped through. She glanced around as if confused for a moment, then let her face twist into a wicked smile.

"Finally free," she whispered.

-C-

"Twilight, dear, do you have a moment?"

Twilight looked up from chapter 17 of _The Greater Guide to Equestria Legends & Folklore_ to see Rarity standing at her half-open door. "I guess I should take a break from reading," Twilight admitted, setting a bookmark to save her spot before closing the book and getting up from her table. "What do you need, Rarity?"

"Well, you see, I have this upcoming show in Phillydelphia, and there is this one design I've been eager to show off. But in order to make it as perfect as it deserves to be, I need to see it in motion on a pony. And you have just the perfect look to compliment it! So could I put upon you to be a posing pony for just a half-hour or so?"

"Half an hour? Sure, I can spare that. Just so long as it's only half an hour. Sometimes your projects drag out a little long, Rarity."

"I will endeavor to be as quick as possible. Please, come along!"

Even as the pair trotted across town towards the boutique, chatting along the way, Twilight found herself glancing at Rarity from the corner of her eye. Something seemed a little strange about the fashonista today- it was as if she was forcing herself to be cheerful, restraining herself from going faster. It was an understandable reaction to deadline stress, though, so Twilight just shrugged it off as nothing to be terribly concerned about.

Finally, they made their way to the boutique and into the designing room. Twilight waited patiently as Rarity piled seemingly random bits of fabric on her, then hustled her over to the mirror. "There, now!" Rarity exclaimed. "Look closely and tell me what you think."

To be honest, Twilight thought she looked like she'd been involved in a terrible fabric-warehouse explosion. But as she opened her mouth to speak, she caught sight of the eyes of her reflection... and the words died in her throat as she found herself mesmerized. Some force seemed to pull her towards the mirror, and though the back of her mind recoiled in horror and tried to get her to stop, her body seemed entranced, and in only a moment she'd stepped into- and through- the mirror.

Again, after just a moment the glass distorted, and Twilight Sparkle stepped out... then whirled on Rarity. "Well, that took you long enough!"

"Do I even need to tell you how perceptive she is? She obviously knew something was up. It wasn't like I could just shove her nose in the mirror and complete the connection!"

"Fine. But we don't have the time to be so genteel about this! We need to get more ponies in front of this mirror, as quickly as we can without raising suspicion."

"A get-together of sorts? Hmm." Rarity smirked. "Well, I know just which pony we need for that."

(-)

"A party!" Somehow, Pinkie Pie managed to seemingly vibrate while bouncing up and down. "I haven't planned a party in hours! What kinda party is it, huh? A going-away party? A coming-back party? A staying-in-the-same-place party? A walking-across-the-room-and-getting-a-glass-of-water party? A-"

"Let's focus here, Pinkie Pie." Twilight settled a hoof on the Earth pony's shoulder. "Rarity wants a little preview presentation before her big show in Phillydelphia- sort of a 'practice run', you know? So we figured you'd be the best one to arrange it. But we need something low-key, understated."

"I can totally do low-key! Subtlety is my middle name! ...no, wait, that's Diane. But you want understated? I can give you understated!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, that's, um... excellent. Let us retire to my place for a dry run, as it were? And perhaps an outfit for you to wear to match the occasion."

"Okie-dokie, Loki!" The party pony bounced along the road between Sugarcube Corner and the Carousel Boutique, with the two unicorns flanking her close behind. Rarity led Pinkie Pie into the designing room- where the mirror immediately attracted her attention. "Oooooooh," she said, gazing into it. "This mirror is weird. How come I see Twilight in there? She's not even-"

And then her eyes met her reflection's.

"It's about time!" she exclaimed, after stepping back out of the mirror. "I mean, really, you don't want to know how she gets around sometimes! It's like she's too crazy to understand the laws of physics or something."

"Alright, alright, settle down." Twilight followed her words into the room. "We need some of that craziness now; we're on a timetable. And what that timetable requires..." Her eyebrows lowered, giving her a dark expression. "...is a party."

"Now, Twi, y'know I don't mind helpin' friends." Applejack turned to walk backwards for a moment so she could face her friend. "But Rarity 'n I... well, we just don't often see eye-to-eye when it comes to fashion, y'know?"

"Or anything else," Rainbow Dash added, hovering lazily above Fluttershy's head.

"Well, yeah, that's a point. I mean, she's a dear, but... she 'n I just have different tastes. So how come she wants me to come sit in on a practice-run fashion show?"

"That's exactly why she wants you there. This show is important to her, and she wants to make sure that it has as much appeal to everypony as possible."

"Well... awright." Applejack turned back around, as Rainbow Dash did a quick loop overhead. "Well, I dunno why I should be here," the pegasus complained. "I know fashion like Fluttershy here knows how to yell."

The pink-maned pegasus blushed at that. "Um, well... I don't know if Rarity really wants my advice either. She... doesn't seem to take it well when I give her honest feedback."

"Look, can we just...!" Twilight visibly restrained herself from delivering an outburst. "Girls, I really want this to go as well as it can for Rarity, okay? It's the least we can all do for her."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Dash landed to trot next to Fluttershy. "Hey," the blue mare whispered. "Does Twilight seem really on-edge to you for some reason?"

"Well... yes, she does. But you know how she can be sometimes when she's trying to help a friend. It's not really a big deal, what she's asking us to do... don't you agree?"

"It's... well... nah. It's not like I had a lot to do today. And it'd be nice for Rarity to have a good show, I guess."

Fluttershy smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Almost as soon as they'd entered the boutique, Rarity called for Fluttershy to come into the back to help with something, while Twilight insisted Dash and Applejack wait. After a couple of minutes, Rarity called Applejack in to help model something designed just for earth ponies, and then finally Twilight called Dash in. She found the rest of her friends lined up near a huge mirror, watching her expectantly. For some reason she felt her hackles raise, as if there were some kind of threat waiting for her here- but that made no sense; what could be safer than this place? "Oh, hey, Dashie," Pinkie Pie said. "I, uh... I think you've got something on your face there."

"Huh? What?" Dash reflexively tried to look at her own face. "Where?"

"It's sort of... just look at the mirror. Trust me, you don't want something like that sitting on your face!"

"Okay, okay..." Dash trotted up to the mirror, searching for whatever it was on her face. Weirdly, the mirror looked darkened, like the glass was dirty, and it was making it hard to see herself, so she leaned in closer to look...

Dash shook her head as she walked out through the mirror. "What an idiot! 'You've got something on your face'? She fell for that? Wow."

"Okay, okay, we need to keep this moving." Twilight glanced up at the wall clock, which showed the time to be just past noon. "It's time that more of Ponyville's residents stopped by the Carousel Boutique to... see and be seen."

(-)

"Dinky! I'm hooo- oof!" Ditzy let out a soft grunt as she walked into the lower half of the door, which she'd absentmindedly forgotten to open. "Both halves, Ditz, both halves," she reminded herself as she opened the door the rest of the way. "Dink, where are you?"

A quick look around the house revealed a note left lying on the kitchen table; Ditzy closed one eye and leaned her head close to the paper so she could read it well.

"_Mama-_

_Chryssie stopped by early, said Chicory was feeling better and we can start our sleepover early! There's gonna be a fashion party at Carousel Boutique, and Chryssie said you should stop by there too. Everypony's invited! See you there, Mama!_

_-Dink"_

"Huh. A party? At this hour? The fashion crowd can be so weird. But, hey, maybe they've got muffins!" Briefly, she wondered if she should get dressed up for this event- but of all the fashion shows she'd somehow found herself invited to (or simply present at), none had ever required it, so she decided to just drop by as-is.

It was a quick flight to the center of Ponyville, and Ditzy somehow managed not to crash into anything along the way, landing at the front of the boutique and trotting through the front door. Inside she found a rather large crowd of ponies milling about, speaking to each other over berry juice and sandwiches. She let out a little sigh of disappointment when she saw that there were no muffins to be found- but then she realized that almost half of the ponies present were wearing accessories of some sort, mostly hats, bows or scarves. Also, it seemed that Dinky was nowhere to be found.

Cheerilee was present, though, and Ditzy approached her. "Hey, have you seen Dinky around?" she asked the teacher.

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm afraid not. I did hear Chrysanthemum mention her- something about picking her up and bringing her here?"

"I read a note from Dinky saying that..."

"Then you must have just missed each other! I'm sure if you wait here, she'll show up in no time at all."

"Hey, you're right. Thanks, Cheerilee."

The lavender earth pony turned suddenly as Big Macintosh tapped her on the side; the tall stallion was wearing a rather uncharacteristically gaudy gem-studded hat. "Ma'am, Ms. Rarity would like to see ya," he drawled.

"Rarity? She wants to see me? Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep her waiting!" Cheerielee let Big Mac lead her to the rear of the shop, leaving Ditzy to simply wander around while waiting for Chrysanthemum to show with Dinky. Fortunately, while she did jostle a few things and bump into a couple of ponies, she managed not to cause a single accident.

Ditzy was starting to think that Chryssie had taken the long way here when she felt a tap on her flank; Cheerielee was standing beside her, wearing a ridiculously overdecorated pair of cat-eye glasses. Yet behind those tinted lenses, something about the pony's gaze seemed a little different. "Ditzy, Rarity wants to see you in the back," she said.

"Me? What for?"

"Look, I don't know- why don't you go ahead and see?"

"Well, uh... okay." Had something gone wrong back there? The usually-peppy teacher seemed upset about something. Maybe there had been a contest and she didn't win. Or maybe she did win, but for the wrong reasons?

The doorway interrupted her thoughts as she walked headlong into it with a quiet "bonk". She let out a soft sigh as she shook her head to clear it. "Focus, Ditzy," she scolded herself, straightening her back and trotting into the rear of the shop confidently.

"Ah, Ditzy." Rarity gave her a welcoming sweep of her foreleg. "Come in. In celebration of my upcoming showing, I'm giving each citizen of Ponyville a small item from my collection as a 'thank you' gift for being so supportive of my establishment!"

Ditzy didn't understand a few of those words, but she did grok "gift". That must have been why those ponies in the main room were wearing those accessories. The styles she saw out there didn't really suit her, but she wasn't going to turn down such a generous offer. "Well, that's great, Ms. Rarity," she replied.

"It certainly is. Now, let's find something for you, shall we?" The unicorn rummaged through a trunk nearby and came up bearing an extremely long, multicolored scarf that seemed it would be far better suited for a boggle-eyed stallion with a curly mane and a frock coat. "Yes, yes, this should do nicely," she declared, magically wrapping the scarf around Ditzy's neck; half of its length sat limply on the floor. "Splendid! This will serve you quite well when winter's chill comes biting."

"Uh... yeah, spring is never too early to worry about that, I guess..."

"Indeed." Rarity didn't even seem to be listening. "Now, let's get you in front of that mirror so you can have a look!" She hustled the mailmare in front of the very mirror she'd helped deliver yesterday; weirdly, the glass seemed darker than it had then. Ditzy stood there, one eye gazing at her reflection while the other caught sight of a few other ponies walking purposefully out of a small alcove she hadn't seen before. "Go ahead, Ditzy," Rarity said, her voice insistent. "Take a closer look."

Slowly, Ditzy approached the mirror, watching her reflection do the same, until she realized that she was walking right into the surface.

_bonk_

Ditzy's nose smacked against the cold glass, and she stumbled back, rubbing at it with a hoof. She heard Rarity gasp behind her. "Why didn't it work?"

"Get her right up to it!" she heard the Mayor command, and before she could react, she felt several hooves push her forward into the mirror again, smushing her nose against it. "Hey! Ow!" she cried out. "What are you doing? Quit it!"

"It's still not working!" somepony exclaimed.

"Blast it! It's her eyes!" Twilight replied. "The transfer requires full eye contact- her stupid derped eyes won't both face the right way!"

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Rarity's hoof came dangerously close to Ditzy's eye, and the pegasus reflexively jerked back, accidentally knocking a couple of ponies on their rumps. "What's going on? Get off of me!" she shouted, pushing more ponies aside even as they scrambled to restrain her. She made a rush for the door she'd come in through- but Fluttershy was already there, blocking it off with a wicked look on her face. "Grab her already!" the yellow pegasus growled.

Panic rose up in Ditzy's mind, but it seemed to strip away the distracting thoughts that normally flowed through her head, giving her a few precious moments of clarity. The windows were too thick to smash through, but that delivery door didn't close all the way due to a faulty latch. She made a run for it- which quickly turned into a tumble as somepony slammed a hoof down on the scarf that was still trailing behind her. Thankfully, Ditzy Doo was well-versed in how to take a fall, and instead of ending up with a broken neck or squashed windpipe, the scarf simply came free as she turned the motion into a roll, slamming through the door with a loud bang. She stumbled to her hooves outside and shook her head to clear it- but a shout of "Get her, Dash!" sent her rushing down the street and into the nearest alley she could find. She was no slouch in the air, but the chances that she could outrun Equestria's best flier were zilch.

It was pure luck that she'd picked an alley darkened by the late-afternoon shadows, as Rainbow Dash zipped by overhead, apparently having expected the mailmare to take to the skies instead of the streets. But Ditzy didn't dare stay still for long in case a sharper-eyed pony happened by; with the clarity of fear still within her grasp, she decided not to gallop away and draw attention with the noise of her hoofsteps, but instead took flight between the homes and shops, careful to keep to the shadows. "Gotta find somepony," she murmured to herself. "Gotta tell them. Something bad happening."

But who could she tell? Just about everypony she knew that was powerful or important had been in that room trying to catch her- it was probably just the element of surprise that had kept Twilight from turning her into a chicken or a block of ice or something. The only ones she could think of that hadn't been there were the royals; it was a sure bet that Princess Celestia or Luna would know what to do, but Canterlot was a long flight away, and who knew what else would happen in the time it'd take to go grab Dinky and-

Ditzy nearly slammed into the back of a house as realization shot through her.

_DINKY!_

Caution went right out the barn door as Ditzy circled back around to the Boutique; by some miracle, she wasn't spotted as she cautiously approached the rear of the building, hoping beyond hope that Chrysanthemum hadn't yet returned to the shop.

Then she got one eye to gaze into the window, and ice-cold terror gripped her heart at what she saw- Dinky, completely entranced, stepping into the mirror. The glass shimmered, and then Dinky stepped back out- but like all the other ponies in the room, she seemed different somehow, her normally cheerful expression twisted into a scowl as she turned back to the mirror. "Ha ha!" she taunted her reflection. "Hope you like it in there! Now I get to do whatever I want and you have to copy me! So you can just-"

Then she froze in mid-sentence, and started walking towards the mirror, only to have Chrysanthemum roughly kick her to the side. "Don't be foalish!" the mare scolded her. "The mirror is still active! Transfers still work both ways!"

"Once we have as many ponies through as we can, we'll need to cover the mirror for the night," Twilight said. "Don't want to take the chance of somepony getting transferred back while nopony else is in here. One of you will need to be up early to uncover it for-" Suddenly, she turned towards the window. "Is something out there?"

Ditzy bolted again, once more doing her best to stay unseen and unheard in case of pursuers. There was still the chance that Rainbow Dash was patrolling above, and Celestia only knew how many other pegasi had gone through the mirror as well. Left with no other place to go, and knowing that home would be the first place anypony would look for her, she resorted to sneaking into Sugarcube Corner and was grateful to find it empty. Even the rows of still-fresh muffins did nothing to cheer her up. "What am I going to do?" she whimpered to herself. "I might not even be able to get to Canterlot without getting caught, and I don't know if I can get anypony back here in time to do something..."

Suddenly, another voice- barely audible above her own and the thudding of her heart in her ears- caught her attention. _"Ditzy!"_

"Wha-?" For a terrified second, she thought that she'd been found- but the voice wasn't coming from the entrance, but instead the washroom of all places. Slowly, she crept into the small room, closing the door behind her and turning on the light so she could see. There was nopony inside; only the usual things one would find inside a washroom, including a small mirror mounted over the sink.

"_Ditzy! Over here!"_

The mirror! Not that Ditzy trusted mirrors right now, but what harm could that little one do? She leaned up onto the sink and focused one eye onto it, seeing herself gazing back- and Twilight Sparkle behind her. With a gasp, she whirled, ready to kick out... but no one else was in the room with her.

"_Ditzy! It's me, Twilight Sparkle! I'm trapped on the other side of the mirror!"_

"Huh...?" She turned back to the mirror, where Twilight was watching her; the unicorn's horn was glowing brightly. _"Listen carefully, Ditzy, I can't keep this spell up for long! That mirror in Rarity's shop is cursed! It's freeing our reflections, and they want to be the ones who call the shots while we're all stuck copying them!"_

"But... what can I do? Should I go get Princess Celestia?"

"_There's not enough time! I've read some of the things they've written over here, where our mirrors have never been able to see- they know how the mirror works. It charges its power by the light of the morning sun, and when it does, any transfers that happened over the previous day become permanent!"_

A glance out the window showed the faint glow of dusk; the chances that she could get to Canterlot, alert Princess Luna, and get anyone back here with enough time to do anything before dawn were almost zero. "But... what can I do?" she begged the reflection. "I think I'm the only one who knows who hasn't been caught, and I don't know how many others haven't gone through!"

"_Rarity has been giving everypony something to wear before sending them through the mirror. I think that's how they've been keeping track."_ The glow of Twilight's horn started to fade, as did her image. _"I can't keep the spell up any longer, Ditzy! Get me back on the other side and I can help you with the others. But we only have until dawn! You need... else..."_

And with that, Twilight's image disappeared from the mirror, leaving Ditzy Doo alone with her reflection. "What am I going to do?" she wondered aloud. "I can't do this by myself! I can't outsmart ponies like Twilight Sparkle! I'm just a derp-eyed ditz!"

She wanted to curl up in a dark corner and hide until the whole situation fixed itself. But in the back of her mind, she knew that wasn't going to happen. And if this derp-eyed ditz of a mailmare didn't get herself together and figure out some way to reverse what was happening, everypony in Ponyville was going to be stuck on the wrong side of the mirror forever...

...including Dinky.

Slowly, Ditzy got to her hooves. "Dinky needs me," she said quietly. "I have to save her."

And like the gears of a machine finally given oil after years of rusting, Ditzy's mind began to work.

-C-

_THWACK_

Somehow it hurt a lot more to walk into a doorway on purpose- but it was all a part of Ditzy's plan, and she needed things to be as convincing as possible. Quickly, she returned to the mirror, seeing a nice welt raising up on her forehead. "Okay, that's half of it done," she told herself. "Now I've gotta hope that the Boutique isn't crowded..."

There weren't that many unlit areas in Ponyville, but Ditzy was making sure to use all of them as she approached the center of town. For once, luck was on her side- the store didn't seem to be nearly as crowded as it had been before. She carefully crept into the back of the Boutique through the still-open delivery door and spotted a pair of ponies having a conversation at the other end of the room, thankfully facing away. And there, just where it'd been when she'd left, was that ridiculous scarf Rarity had tried to foist on her. As quietly as she could, Ditzy moved from one obstacle to the next, until she was within leg's reach of the scarf- which she dragged out of sight and wound around her neck as best as she could, letting the excess length drape over her back between her wings.

Now it was time for the second part of the act. She put on the expression she'd practiced in the mirror at Sugarcube Corner- a mix of anger and irritation that seemed to show on the faces of everypony who'd been through the mirror- before stepping out into the open. "Hey, you two," she called out.

They both turned to face her. "What?" one of them demanded.

"Applejack says she needs help getting the rest of her family here. You two are the only ponies I can find that aren't total doofuses. Get down to Sweet Apple Acres and help her out!"

With some grumbling, the two ponies trotted out through the delivery door. Ditzy couldn't believe that had worked- all she'd done was copy the way Primo liked to act towards new delivery workers before he got to see how well they could do. For the first time this evening, the slightest bit of hope shot through her. "But I can't let myself get cocky," she murmured, as she gingerly moved the thick cloth covering the mirror while being cautious not to look into it. "Gotta be careful. Gotta do this right to save Dinky."

Twilight Sparkle was nowhere to be found, but Rainbow Dash was in the front of the building, dolled up in a goofy-looking rainbow-colored helmet, obviously recovering from a day spent patrolling. The cyan pegasus looked up in shock as Ditzy approached. "What the- how did you get-"

"Oh, will you save it? Twilight caught her skulking around earlier and forced her into the mirror."

Dash gave her a skeptical look. "How'd she get her to look into the reflection? It didn't work last time."

Ditzy smirked, pointing up to her head. "You ever see that ditz's eyes flop around when she gets hit in the head? One good thwack from a hoof got her seeing things our way."

"Ha ha! I wish I coulda seen that."

"I wish I could've given her the lump myself. Look, anyway- I think there's someone skulking around in the back of the store. Gimme a hoof looking around, would you?"

"Yeah, fine." Ditzy and Dash walked into the designing room, glancing into each shadow. Despite her act, Ditzy couldn't help but gulp as Dash walked by the mirror- but the other pegasus's reluctance to look at it kept her from seeing that the cloth had been moved. Finally, it seemed like Dash was in the perfect position. "Look! Over there!" Ditzy called out, pointing with a hoof.

On reflex, Dash spun on her hooves to face the supposed hider- only to look into the mirror. Before she could realize what she was looking at, she made eye contact with her reflection; slowly, she walked towards it, walking into the mirror just as she'd seen Dinky do. A moment later, Dash walked right back out through the looking glass...

...then pulled Ditzy into a tight embrace.

"Ditz!" she whispered. "Oh, thank Celestia you got me out of there! It's horrible being in there! It..." She paused, breaking the hug. "...wait. Am I really that stupid? 'Look over there'? I feel like an idiot falling for that kind of-"

"Dash! Please, focus!" It felt weird to be the one saying that to somepony else. "We only have until dawn before everyone who got transferred is stuck there forever!"

Dash gasped. "Oh my gosh! Okay, Ditzy, what do I have to do?"

"I need you to help me move this mirror, and tell me how many ponies have already gone through it."

"Oh, man. I'm not sure, Ditzy." Together, they were able to lift the heavy curio piece. "Coulda been, like, thirty or so already." She gave the mailmare a sad look. "Ditz, they got Dinky."

"I know." Ditzy closed her eyes for just a moment. "But I'm gonna get her back. Her and all the other ponies."

Dash nodded, her expression becoming resolute. "Okay. What do we do next?"

"We get Twilight Sparkle to where we're moving this mirror."

(-)

"Twilight!"

Twilight Sparkle looked up at the pegasus poking her head through an open window of the library. "What do you want?"

"I spotted Ditzy Doo near her house. I'm gonna need your help to catch her- she's faster than she looks!"

"Oh, who cares about her?" Twilight stomped her hoof. "Not like she's smart enough to do anything anyway."

"Yeah, but if she gets word to Canterlot..."

"Canterlot is three hours from here by wing!"

"Usually! But there's a strong wind blowing that way, and if it got her there fast enough, and she told Celestia, and Celestia teleported..."

"Gah! Alright, alright, I'll help catch her." She followed the pegasus out into town, using short-distance teleports to keep up with the flier. It was only a few minutes before they came to the small village where Ditzy Doo lived. "Now where did that ditz get to..." the unicorn wondered, glancing around.

Then she spotted a yellow mane flash by out of the corner of her eye. "There!" A flare of magical power lashed out from her horn- striking the wall of an unoccupied home. The mailmare really was faster than she looked. "Blast her," Twilight growled. "Look, Ditzy, you're going in the mirror one way or the other! The only question is in how many pieces!"

"Twilight! Over here! This alley- I have her cornered!" Twilight immediately galloped towards the source of Dash's shout, turning a blind corner and expecting to find the mailmare trapped- but instead blundering directly into sight of the cursed mirror. She managed only a quick "No!" before the spell took hold of her, compelling her to march straight into the glass.

When the unicorn came back out, her expression was one of utter relief. "Ditzy! Dash! You did it!" She pulled the two pegasi into a tight hug. "Oh, thank Celestia. Look, girls- we're running low on time." She glanced up at the moon, which had just passed its apex. "We can't do this one at a time like they did; it'll be dawn long before we get even half of them back through the mirror. And Spike was one of the first ones they got, so I can't send word to the Princesses."

"So what do we do?" Ditzy felt tears coming to her eyes. "I want my Dinky back!"

"Don't worry, Ditzy. We'll get her back. What we need is a little trickery, a little magic... and a lot of moving things."

Somehow, Ditzy was able to smile. "I can move things."

(-)

"Well, it's about time you all got here. Don't you realize we're on a schedule?" Twilight struck a hoof against the floor of the town hall, glaring down at the forty or so ponies gathered before her. It was a tight fit for all of them to be gathered inside, especially with all of the large lumpy furniture covered with blankets scattered around the outside of the meeting circle. "What the hay is this all about?" Applejack demanded. "Yer the one what keeps tellin' us we're on a timetable, but ya brought us all here! Are ya tryin' to get ponies suspicious?"

"Applejack, you foal, it's five in the morning. Who else is awake?"

"I wouldn't mind some shuteye m'self," Big Macintosh complained.

"Listen! Listen! We have a serious problem! Somepony has gotten word out! This entire operation is in jeopardy!" That seemed to get everyone's attention. "Oh, big deal, Twilight!" Spike called out. "In a couple hours it'll be dawn and then nopony can do anything!"

Twilight scowled at him. "But they've already done something! You don't understand how close they are to spoiling everything! In fact, there's just one thing they have to do in order to ruin all we've worked for!"

By now, many of the assembled ponies were agitated. "What? What do they have to do?" came the outcry.

"Simple. All they have to do..." Twilight reached up to grab at something hanging from the ceiling. "...is pull this rope."

With a thick rustle of cloth, the blankets covering the furniture fell to the floor- revealing mirrors, dozens of mirrors of every shape and size, lining the room. As the ponies gasped in surprise and began to shuffle around, Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated; her horn began to glow brightly, and a bright beam of light shot out to strike something directly behind her- the back of the very mirror that had started this all, now set to face away from the center of the hall. The energy swirled through the mirror's glass for a moment, then shot outwards, reflecting off of the nearest mirrors, then bouncing across to mirrors across the room. Within a moment, the entire place was filled with crisscrossing beams of magic, covering the surface of each mirror with a swirling field of sorcerous power.

"Dash! Ditzy! Now!" Twilight called out, still keeping her eyes closed.

With each pony's gaze caught by a mirror, Rainbow Dash- her eyes covered by a blindfold- was free to slowly turn the cursed mirror around. As she did, a dark beam of energy shot out towards each smaller mirror it came to face, and the pony gazing into it was compelled to walk through; as that same pony came back out, Ditzy Doo covered his or her eyes with a blindfold and led the poor bewildered stallion or mare towards the back of the hall, while taking off whatever tacky accessory they had been wearing in order to better keep track of who had been re-transferred.

It took a little while to complete the process of returning each pony through the mirror, and by then the eastern sky was beginning to brighten. As soon as the last pony had been brought back, Ditzy spoke up. "That's all of them, Twilight!" she called out.

"Good! Rainbow Dash, turn the mirror back towards the doors!" As soon as the unicorn had spoken, Dash was complying, pushing the cursed mirror to face the main entrance. "Ditzy, open the doors! Now!"

With little time for niceties, Ditzy simply kicked the doors wide open. By chance or design, the town hall had been built to face directly east, and the open lane across from it meant that the morning light shone directly into the main gathering room. As the sun crested the horizon, Twilight could hear her own voice coming through the mirror. _"No!"_ it cried out. _"We were free! You can't entrap us again! Noooo!"_

Then the first rays of dawn's light struck the glass, and the mirror flared with dark energy, which was quickly washed away with the pure white energy of the sun. Abruptly, the glow ceased, leaving the mirror's glass clear. "Ditzy, check the mirror," Twilight said. "Is it safe for us to look?"

Ditzy carefully focused one of her eyes on the looking glass. "Yeah, I think so. It looks the same as when we delivered it."

"I'll check. Be ready to grab me." Rainbow Dash pulled off her blindfold and circled around to the front of the mirror, taking a moment to steel herself before staring directly at her reflection. "I don't feel anything," the pegasus announced. "I think it's safe now!"

"Oh, thank Celestia! Cover that thing up anyway just to be safe. Ditzy, you can take off everyone's blindfolds now."

But as she turned, she found the mailmare shuffling through the crowds intently. Twilight was about to ask what she was looking for when Ditzy let out a cry.

"Dinky!"

"Mama!" came the response. The crowd seemed to part to reveal Ditzy and her adopted daughter embracing tenderly; the other ponies were already pulling off their blindfolds, their questions and outcries of relief temporarily quelled by the sight of mother and foal snuggling in tearful relief. Even Rainbow Dash seemed struck by the sight. "Man, that's somethin'," she half-whispered, raising a foreleg to rub a tear away from her eye before catching Twilight watching her. "...what?" she said defensively. "Just got some dust in my eye or something."

"Riiiight." Twilight just couldn't help but chuckle before turning to find her assistant. "Questions later, Spike," she interrupted him. "Right now we need a letter sent to the Princesses. Immediately, if not sooner."

Spike scrambled to find a pen, parchment and ink. "Dictate away, Twi!"

(-)

"My goodness!" Princess Celestia trotted across the central plaza and gazed at the mirror with trepidation; her sister was busy looking at the carvings, going over them with a practiced eye. "Such a wicked construct, made to look so harmless," the Goddess of the Sun continued, shaking her head in disbelief. "And how long could this thing have existed? How many others have been locked away as their very own reflections betrayed them? We may never be able to know."

"But these ponies have ensured that this foul mirror will claim no more innocents this day," Luna replied. "But still... the evil behind this glass still exists. I can feel it, sister. Something must be done."

"Ordinarily I would order it locked away to ensure that it harmed nopony else." Celestia's multi-hued tail twitched. "But I will not take any chance that it could ever be let loose on the world again. This mirror must be destroyed. My little ponies, please move away from it!"

There was an organized rush to do so, and as soon as sufficient space was cleared, Celestia lowered her head. A bright beam of magic lanced forth, powerful enough to singe the cobblestones beneath, and struck the mirror- only to be absorbed by the glass itself without effect. Gasps of surprise rose from the crowd, and the alicorn frowned deeply. "It resists my magic," she said. "Sister, try your hoof at this."

"I shall!" Luna took her sister's position and sent her own, midnight-black stream of magic flowing directly at the mirror- only to see it similarly absorbed. "The cursed thing must have protective enchantments," the Goddess of the Moon declared. "Whatever foul creature created it did not wish it destroyed!"

Whatever protected the mirror proved to be exceptionally resilient; Twilight's own magic, bucks from both Applejack and Big Macintosh, various thrown implements, and even a huge hammer that Pinkie Pie produced seemingly from nowhere did absolutely nothing to the glass. Celestia lowered her wings and sighed in resignation. "So we'll simply have to find some safe place to keep it, where some other poor soul won't someday accidentally find it."

"But I don't want this thing to ever hurt anypony again, Princess!" Ditzy stepped towards the mirror, looking it over carefully. "There's got to be some way we can get rid of- oof!"

One hoof got in the way of another, and Ditzy Doo found herself stumbling into the side of the mirror, with enough of an impact to knock it off of its front legs. With a slow creak, the mirror leaned back, fell over, and hit the street.

With an eerie, scream-like sound, the looking glass shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Everypony gathered around stared in shock. "What the hey-?" "How?" "What happened?" But the various questions were cut short by a sudden outburst of laughter from Luna. "Sister?" Celestia queried. "What is it?"

"I should have known!" Luna exclaimed. "I have studied many things about enchantments, sister. They are incredibly powerful- and incredibly precise. Whoever created this abomination spent no small effort on protecting it from any sort of direct attack." She trotted over to where the shards of glass glittered in the morning sun. "But they apparently did not cover the possibility of an honest accident," she continued, raising her head to look at Ditzy. "Your simple misstep has bypassed the enchantment. This foul construct is destroyed, and will harm no one any further."

"You did it, Mama! You saved all of us!" Dinky rushed out to hug her mother once more, and Ditzy was all too happy to embrace her as Celestia came to stand by her sister. "Indeed she did," the Princess of the Sun said gently. "Ditzy Doo, mailmare of Ponyville, know that on this day you have done all of Equestria- all of the world- a great service. Were it not for you, that evil mirror would still be at work, and many innocent ponies would be trapped behind its glass, forced forever to copy their own reflections." She smiled. "Sister?"

Luna stepped forward, and in a flash of magic from her horn, a large medallion tied to a multicolored ribbon appeared, then floated over Ditzy's head to rest on her neck. On the front of the medallion was carved a crescent moon with a sun in its center- the mark of Equestria's royalty. "Citizen of Equestria, please accept this medal of courage from your Princesses," Luna said, in a quiet but powerful version of her royal voice. "Let everypony know that no evil can withstand the determination of a single mare and her love for her daughter."

The crowd gathered around, many of them calling for a speech as Ditzy gently settled Dinky onto her back. "Uh..." she stammered, gazing down at the medal. "I'm... I'm really honored and all. I dunno what to say. Except that I..." Her mouth suddenly opened as a long, drawn-out yawn escaped. "Uh... except that I'm really, really tired from being up all night... and I think Dinky and I would like to get to bed."

"So I guess this means you won't be showing up for work today, huh?" Primo stepped out of the crowd, giving Ditzy his most serious look, with his pipe clamped firmly in his teeth. But just as some of the other ponies looked ready to criticize him for being so demanding, he smiled. "Not a problem. You get a week off, with pay. But I expect to see you the Monday after, on-time and ready to work!"

"Well, she might end up too big to fly with all the muffins I'm gonna send her!" Pinkie Pie called out.

"An' you'll get all the apple fritters ya could ever want, sugarcube," Applejack put in.

Rarity trotted up to the mailmare with a smile. "Dear, I could wish you had been so clumsy when you first delivered that wretched thing," she said. "But thank you so much. You are truly one of the most brave and clever ponies I know."

The crowd was more than happy to escort the Doos home, where an exhausted mailmare and her daughter stumbled into bed. Ditzy gently settled her forelegs around Dinky, who snuggled in comfortably. "Thanks, Mama," she said with a deep yawn. "I didn't need any silly medal to let me know that you're a hero."

Ditzy smiled as she placed a gentle smooch on the foal's horn. "Sleep well, Dink."

"You too, Mama."

Within a couple of minutes, both ponies were sound asleep.

(-)

_Dear Princess Celestia:_

_Today I learned a powerful lesson about friendship and love. Sometimes when things seem darkest, and all hope seems lost, the most unassuming among us can rise up and save the day. Everypony is different, and those differences can be what make us stand out and help us solve whatever problem comes along. So it's important to be careful not to put somepony down or count them out just because their differences make them seem strange- because you never know when you might need their help._

_Your faithful student,_

_Twilight Sparkle_


End file.
